Challenge 16: Doorknob
by UndeservingHero
Summary: I had run for so long. I didn't know what stopping felt like until I slammed into a wall.


[A/N: After a very extended and unintentional hiatus, I'm back. I know you missed me. : ) To move on quickly so you don't eat me, let's get the sticky stuff out of the way so you can get to the ooey gooey part.

This is number sixteen in the challenge. Please read the others if you enjoy this. Again, this started out as an art challenge. (These will not necessarily be in order, connected in any way, or even in the same universe/manga/anime/book/series.)]

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I am not making profit off the following message except in reviews, for which I ask shamelessly.

P.S. If you do NOT like yaoi or shounen-ai, please turn back now. All flames regarding homosexuality will be ignored by this bisexual libertarian. Please and thank you. XD]]

Running.

Running.

Stop.

Pant.

Hear someone behind me.

Run further.

Finally see a door.

Run more.

I remember before I started running. I remember the fights. I remember the laughter. I remember that smile. The smile haunted me. In wakefulness and sleep, his smile hovered around the edges of my vision. I would see it out of the corner of my eyes, only to turn and find him absent from my side. Every time, I would miss him more.

I reach the door, but the knob won't turn. I hear the sound of running feet pounding behind me. The nin had no need for stealth. I would have known his chakra from 1000 miles away.

He finally rounds the curve in the hallway, sliding to a halt, mere feet from me. The smile is gone. His eyes are a hollow blue. Lifeless.

I say his name. He shows no sign of recognition. I say it again. And again. Finally, the ice in his gaze thaws and the crystals drips down his scarred cheeks.

He runs at me before I can move and slams me against the wall. His fingers, calloused and sun-kissed, dig into my shoulders as he crushes our mouths together. The harshness of the kiss mixed with the wetness on his cheeks seem at odds with one another, but there is something…. innocent about the whole thing. His mouth is hard, unforgiving, as I know he will be when this was all over. I kiss him back to try and say how sorry I am. I want to go home but I know it won't be easy. I don't move other than to kiss the lips that once smiled at me with such unencumbered joy. I know it will only hurt me when he takes me back to the village to be prosecuted. I know that no one else really cares for me.

He will have completed his mission. It will be over. Just like my life.

Tears slid down my cheek, unbidden.

I was startled. When had I started to care about my own life?

I never had before.

Why now?

He tears his mouth from mine. When had I closed my eyes? I open them to look at why I had started to care. I care because of him. Because he came for me. He was still chasing me even after years of disappointment. His eyes are softer now. He is still beyond furious, but he is looking at me with a measure of compassion. Or is it just passion?

He steps away from me and looks me up and down, as if checking me over. When he looks into my eyes, he draws back and cracks his fist over my cheekbone. Pain explodes out from the left side of my face. He didn't hold back.

He hadn't really changed. I almost smile. He's still the same, straight-forward knucklehead that I had left behind.

Had it been worth it to leave?

No. When I look into his eyes and see the suffering that he is going through, I know that I never should have left. I reach forward and bury my fingers in his soft hair, pulling him forward to press my mouth against his again. He pushes against me and I hold onto the doorknob to keep my balance.

He pulls back to pant. "Sasuke, come home. With me."

In that moment, I know that I want to go home. I want to see Kanoha again. I miss home. I miss him, above all else. Slowly, I nod.

As I do, I know that nothing will be the same as it was, but it will be better than it has been for years.

He peels my fingers off of the handle and takes my hand in his, squeezing my fingers to the point before they break.

He turns and drags me back the way we've run. Eventually, we find the light of day. I blink, blinded for a moment by the brightness that has so long escaped me.

When I see him in the light, instead of the dimness of the underground, I know I'm going to be okay. I'm going home.


End file.
